Decisive Victory 1918: Volume 1 - Soissons

1-LEG2101

Game scale
Unit size: Regiment/Division
Game Turn: 6 Hour Day/ 12 Hour Night
Map Scale: 1 Kilometer per hex
The Battle of Soissons, 18 July to 28 July, 1918, was the first time that the French army used a large-scale attack with tanks supported by a surprise (i.e. not pre-registered) artillery bombardment, similar to the British attack the previous year at Cambrai, and it was the first time that full-size US divisions went on the offensive incorporated in the French army. But most importantly, it was the opening of the Second Battle of the Marne. It not known at the time, although suspected by many, that this battle was the death-knell of the German army.

The game features mandatory attacks into multiple hexes, very rigid ZOC, and severe restrictions on disengagement and advance after combat. 'Threat zones' extend beyond the standard 1-hex ZOCs and represent limited knowledge of the enemy's positions, thus preventing unrealistic infiltration through narrow gaps in the frontline.

The Combat system is highly attritional, in terms of casualties and cohesion disruption. Reorganization is a slow process, conducted under the cover of the night. Attacking units rapidly deplete their offensive power. Defending units, on the other hand, are never completely eliminated, and retain (as 'remnants') indefinite residual defensive power. Defensive initiative superiority also translates into special 'fall back' movement, which allows defenders to extricate themselves from dangerously outflanked positions and avoid encirclement.